Communication enabled circuit breakers and circuit breaker panels

ABSTRACT

Communication enabled circuit breakers and circuit breaker panels are described. Methods associated with such communication enabled circuit breakers and circuit breaker panels are also described. A circuit breaker panel may include a circuit breaker controller and one or more communication enabled circuit breakers. Two-way wireless communication is possible between the circuit breaker controller and the one or more communication enabled circuit breakers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/485,491, filed Aug. 13, 2019, entitled “CommunicationEnabled Circuit Breakers and Circuit Breaker Panels,” which applicationis a United States National Phase filing of International ApplicationNo. PCT/US2018/019857, filed Feb. 27, 2018, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/465,046, filed Feb. 28, 2017,entitled “Wireless Communication Enabled Circuit Breakers and CircuitBreaker Panels;” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/500,051, filedMay 2, 2017, entitled “Wireless Communication Enabled Circuit Breakersand Circuit Breaker Panels;” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/612,654, filed Jan. 1, 2018, entitled “Secure Communication forCommissioning and Decommissioning Circuit Breakers and Panel System;”U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/612,656, filed Jan. 1, 2018,entitled “Communication Enabled Circuit Breakers;” and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/612,657, filed Jan. 1, 2018, entitled“Communication Enabled Circuit Breakers;” which applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates generally to circuit breakers. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to communication enabledcircuit breakers and circuit breaker panels that house circuit breakers.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Circuit breakers provide protection in electrical systems bydisconnecting a load from a power supply based on certain faultconditions, e.g., ground fault, arc fault, overcurrent. In general,circuit breakers monitor characteristics of the electrical powersupplied to branch circuits. The circuit breakers function to interrupt,open, ‘trip’ or ‘break’ the connection between the power supply and abranch circuit when fault conditions (e.g., arc faults, ground faults,and unsafe overcurrent levels) are detected on the supplied branch,e.g., automatically open a switch to disconnect the branch from thepower supply when such fault conditions are detected.

Existing circuit breaker panels and circuit breakers housed by suchpanels may provide limited information to electricians and consumersabout the nature of the fault conditions observed by the circuitbreakers. For example, electricians and consumers may be able todetermine that a circuit breaker has tripped by visual inspection of thecircuit breaker or if power is lost on one or more loads. The visualinspection of the circuit breaker generally requires observing anoperating switch associated with the circuit breaker. The operatingswitch of the circuit breaker is provided to allow for manually openingand closing contacts of the circuit breaker. The operating switch isalso typically used to reset the circuit breaker after the circuitbreaker has tripped due to a detected fault condition.

It is to be appreciated, that circuit breakers are typically installedin circuit breaker panels, which are themselves typically located indedicated electrical rooms, basements, garages, outdoor spaces, etc.Additionally, circuit breaker panels often include a door or cover thatlimits access to the circuit breakers housed therein. Therefore,locating, inspecting and/or resetting deployed circuit breakers may bedifficult. Furthermore, because circuit breakers generally requirevisual inspection to determine if a fault condition has occurred,property owners and/or residents may not immediately recognize when anelectrical fault condition has caused a circuit breaker to trip. Failureto immediately recognize when an electrical fault condition has caused acircuit breaker to trip may cause damage to property and/or personaleffects due to a loss of electricity to one or more loads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication enabled circuit breaker and panelsystem in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a communication enabled circuit breaker in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a circuit breaker controller in accordance with anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a logic flow depicting communication between acircuit breaker controller and a communication enabled circuit breaker;

FIG. 5 illustrates a logic flow associated with a circuit breakercontroller;

FIG. 6 illustrates a logic flow associated with a communication enabledcircuit breaker; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a storage medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Communication enabled circuit breakers and circuit breaker panels areprovided. Methods associated with such communication enabled circuitbreakers and circuit breaker panels are also provided.

Embodiments discussed herein, can provide a number of advantages overconventional devices. For example, the electrical components of thecommunication enabled circuit breaker is preferably advantageouslysupplied power from the line side phase and neutral electricalconnections/terminations of the communication enabled circuit breaker,rather than the load side phase and neutral electricalconnections/terminations typically used in conventional circuitbreakers. Therefore, unlike conventional circuit breakers, a load sidetrip incident will not terminate power supplied to the electricalcomponents, which includes the communication components of the circuitbreaker. This is because some embodiments detailed herein providecommunication components of communication enabled circuit breakersarranged to receive power from the line side phase and neutral. In theevent of a trip incident, power is still available on the line sidephase and neutral. Therefore, communication functionality is availableeven in the event of a trip incident.

In general, the functionality of conventional circuit breakers is fixedat the time of manufacture. Specifically, circuit breakers are notupgradable or reprogrammable in the field. Therefore, in the event thata circuit breaker is to be upgraded due to a change in load conditions,or the like, physical access to the circuit breaker may be required.Such physical access to the circuit breaker may require dispatching anelectrician to the site of the circuit breaker in order to allow forremoving the circuit breaker and replacing it with a model whichincludes the desired functionality. Therefore, upgrading orreprogramming of circuit breakers may be too time-consuming or costly toimplement.

The embodiments detailed herein provide an advantage in that conditionsin which circuit breakers interrupt faults can be updated and/or“customized” after manufacture, and even after initial deployment orinstallation. Accordingly, circuit breakers can be customized in thefield and/or after installation to interrupt faults based on particularloads to which they are coupled and/or based on historicalcharacteristics of the load. Thus, potentially reducing the number ofunintentional fault interrupts that occur.

It is noted, that the present disclosure often uses examples ofcommunication enabled circuit breakers and panels, which may bewirelessly coupled. It is to be appreciated that the examples givenherein can be implemented using wired communication technologies (e.g.,Ethernet, RS232, USB, or the like) instead of wireless communicationtechnologies. As such, the use of the term “wireless” when referring tothe communication technologies that may be implemented by the breakersand/or panels is not intended to be limiting to breakers and panelswhich only communicate wirelessly. Furthermore, system components can bereferred to as “wireless” without implying that the elements recitedthereto are devoid of wires or physical conductors/conductive paths.

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication enabled circuit breaker and panelsystem 100 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The communicationenabled circuit breaker and panel system 100 includes a circuit breakerpanel 102. The circuit breaker panel 102 may include any number ofcommunication enabled circuit breakers 104-n, where n is a positiveinteger. For example, system 100 is depicted including communicationenabled circuit breakers 104-1, 104-2, 104-3, 104-4, 104-5, 104-6,104-7, 104-8, 104-9 and 104-10. It is noted, system 100 is depicted withcommunication enabled circuit breaker 104-1 to 104-10 for purposes ofclarity and not limitation. For example, system 100 can include panel102 having any number (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, or more) of communicationenabled circuit breakers 104-n. Additionally, panel 102 may include bothcommunication enabled circuit breakers (e.g., 104-1 to 104-10) as wellas conventional circuit breakers (not shown).

Additionally, although each of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104-1 to 104-10 are labeled as breaker 104, it is to beunderstood that communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10are not necessarily identical. For example, communication enabledcircuit breaker 104-1 may be a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI)device; communication enabled circuit breaker 104-2 may be an arc faultcircuit interrupter (AFCI) device; communication enabled circuit breaker104-3 may be a conventional overcurrent circuit breaker, an overcurrenthydraulic-magnetic circuit breaker, an overcurrent thermal magneticcircuit breaker, or the like; communication enabled circuit breaker104-4 may include both GFCI and AFCI functionalities. Furthermore, eachof the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 may berated for a predefined trip amperage or overcurrent state, and notnecessarily the same predefined trip amperage or overcurrent state.

Furthermore, communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 maybe shaped and sized differently. For example, communication enabledcircuit breaker 104-1 may be a double pole circuit breaker having a 2inch width; communication enabled circuit breaker 104-2 may be a singlecircuit breaker having a 1 inch width; communication enabled circuitbreaker 104-2 may be a circuit breaker having a ¾ inch width;communication enabled circuit breaker 104-2 may be a circuit breakerhaving a 1 & ½ inch width; etc. The width of the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 refers to the shorter side of thegenerally rectangular visible face of the wireless circuit breakers104-1 to 104-10 once it is installed in the circuit breaker panel 102.

Each of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 mayinclude communication components (refer to FIG. 2 ), which in someexamples can be wireless. Such communication components associated witheach of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 mayenable the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 tocommunicate (e.g., send and/or receive information elements includingdata, indications of operating conditions, instructions, updated faultinterruption instructions, or the like) using any of a variety ofcommunication standards. For example, in the case of wirelesscommunication, the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to104-10 can include wireless communication components arranged tocommunicate via near field or personal area network communicationsprotocols, e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) technology, thus enablingthe communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 tocommunicate using BLE communication schemes. In some implementations,the use of BLE is advantageous verses other wireless communicationstandards, such as standard Bluetooth®, since BLE requires less power,thereby minimizing the space required within the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104 to house the circuitry. In the case of wiredcommunication, the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to104-10 can include wired communication components arranged tocommunicate via a wired communication protocol, e.g., USB or MTP, thusenabling the wired circuit breakers to communicate using a wiredcommunication scheme.

The circuit breaker panel 102 further houses a circuit breakercontroller 106. The circuit breaker controller 106 may includecommunication components (refer to FIG. 3 ). In an alternativeembodiment, the circuit breaker controller 106 is coupled to the circuitbreaker panel 102 in an external arrangement. For example, thecontroller 106 could be housed in a different panel than panel 102 ordisposed external to panel 102. The communication components associatedwith the circuit breaker controller 106 may enable the controller 106 tocommunicate (e.g., send and/or receive information elements includingdata, indications of operating conditions, instructions, updated faultinterruption instructions, or the like) using any of a variety ofcommunication standards.

For example, the wireless circuit breaker controller 106 can includewireless communication components arranged to communicate via BLEtechnology, thus enabling the wireless circuit breaker controller 106 tocommunicate using BLE communication schemes. Accordingly, the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 106 can communicate with the wireless circuitbreakers 104 wirelessly, for example, using BLE communication schemes.

In general, the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10and the circuit breaker controller 106 (and particularly, thecommunication components of these devices) can be arranged tocommunicate using a variety of communication technologies, which may bewireless or wired in nature. For example, the circuit breaker controller106 can be arranged to wirelessly communicate via ZigBee®, Z-Wave,Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), 6LowPan, Thread, Cellular,Sigfox®, NFC, Neul®, LoRaWAN™, or the like. In some implementations, thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104 and circuit breakercontroller 106 may communicate via wired (as opposed to wireless)technologies. For example, the communication enabled circuit breakers104 may be communicatively coupled via a wired link to the circuit breakcontroller 106.

The circuit breaker controller 106 may be configured to communicate viamultiple communication components. For example, circuit breakercontroller 106 may be configured to communicate with communicationenabled circuit breakers 104 via BLE as described above. Additionally,the circuit breaker controller 106 can be configured to communicate(e.g., send and/or receive information elements including data,indications of operating conditions, instructions, updated faultinterruption instructions, or the like) via a second wirelesscommunication scheme or via a wired communication scheme. For example,the circuit breaker controller 106 could include wireless communicationcomponents arranged to communicate via Wi-Fi technology, thus enablingthe circuit breaker controller 106 to communicate using Wi-Ficommunication schemes. Accordingly, the circuit breaker controller 106can communicate with devices external to the circuit breaker panel 102via wireless channel 108, for example, using Wi-Fi communicationschemes. In general, however, the circuit breaker controller 106 may beenabled to communicate with devices external to the circuit breakerpanel 102 using any suitable type of communication technology, eitherwireless or wired (e.g., BLE, 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi, USB, RS232, MTP, etc.).

Components from the circuit breaker panel 102 may communicate (e.g.,wirelessly or wired) with one or more remote entities 120. For example,the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 and/or the circuit breakcontroller 106 of the circuit breaker panel 102 may communicatewirelessly with a mobile device 110 (e.g., tablet computer, mobilephone, etc.), a computing device 112 (desktop computer, server, etc.)and/or the Internet cloud 114. For example, the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 can communicate with the circuitbreaker controller 106, which can itself, communication with any one ofremote entities 120. It is noted, remote entities 120 are depictedincluding mobile device 110, computing device 112, and Internet 114.However, remote entities 120 could include just a single device orentity remote to circuit breaker panel 120. The term remote entities 120is used herein to refer to one or more devices remote to the panel 120,such as, for example, mobile device 110, computing device 112, andInternet 114. Furthermore, although the term remote entity 120 issometimes used herein in the plural, it is not intended to imply ordenote multiple devices or multiple entities remote to panel 102 butcould simply refer to a single entity remote to the system (e.g., justthe Internet 114, just the mobile device 110, or the like).

More particularly, the circuit breakers 104 can wirelessly communicatewith the circuit breaker controller 106, which can itself, wirelesslycommunicate with devices remote to the circuit breaker panel. In someexamples, the wireless circuit breakers 104 can directly couple todevices remote to the circuit breaker panel 102. For example, the mobiledevice 110 can communicate directly (e.g., via BLE) with one of thewireless circuit breakers 104. In addition, the circuit breaker panel102 may include wireline connectivity functionality, such as an Ethernetport, to enable wireline communication with one or more remote entities.

In some examples, the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to104-10 can directly couple to remote entities 120. For example, themobile device 110 can communicate directly (e.g., via BLE) with at leastone of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10. Inaddition, the circuit breaker panel 102 (e.g., via the circuit breakercontroller 106) may include wireline connectivity functionality, such asan Ethernet port, to enable wireline communication with one or moreremote entities. In some implementations, the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10 may establish a mesh network. Forexample, communication enabled circuit breaker 104-1 may share awireless connection with a remote entity 120 with communication enabledcircuit breaker 104-2. Furthermore, in such a mesh network topology,communication enabled circuit breaker 104-2 may share the wirelessconnection to the remote entity 120 with communication enabled circuitbreaker 104-3 and communication enabled circuit breaker 104-4.Therefore, using the mesh network topology, the wireless connection tothe remote entity 120 may be shared between the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104-1 to 104-10. The mesh network may be implemented inaccordance with wireless communication schemes, or standards, such as,BLE standards, Wi-Fi standards, or the like.

The present disclosure provides that the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104 and the circuit breaker controller 106 may communicate, orexchange signals including indications of data, operating conditions,fault detection events, fault interruption instructions, or the like.For example, the circuit breaker controller 106 may be configured totransmit updated software (e.g., operating software, firmware, faultinterrupter instructions, etc.) to one or more of the communicationenabled circuit breakers 104. For example, the circuit breakercontroller 106 may provide, e.g., updated firmware to one or more of thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104. Furthermore, the circuitbreaker controller 106 may provide updated fault interrupterinstructions to one or more of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104. The updated fault interrupter instructions may replacefault interrupter instructions stored in one or more of thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104. The updated faultinterrupter instructions may be received at the circuit breakercontroller 106 from one or more remote entities 120 (e.g., mobile device110, computing device 112 and/or the Internet cloud 114). The circuitbreaker controller 106 may communicate updated fault interrupterinstructions to one or more of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104 (e.g., using wireless or wired communication technologies).Alternatively, one or more remote entities 120 (e.g., mobile device 110,computing device 112 and/or the Internet cloud 114) may directly provideupdated fault interrupter instructions to one or more of thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104. To that end, the one or moreremote entities 120 may communicate fault interrupter instructions toone or more of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 (e.g.,using BLE, or the like). The process of providing updated firmwareand/or updated fault interrupter instructions may also be provided toother interrupter devices, such as AFCI/GFCI receptacles.

In general, fault interrupter instructions stored in the communicationenabled circuit breaker 104 and/or updated fault interrupterinstructions may include parameters of operating conditions intended totrigger a trip event. Said differently, the fault interrupterinstructions and/or updated fault interrupter instructions can beconfigured to control fault condition detection algorithms and/or faultinterruption characteristics of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104. For example, the fault interrupter instructions stored inthe communication enabled circuit breaker 104 and/or updated faultinterrupter instructions may define an overcurrent trip value in ampsand an overcurrent trip response time in seconds. In addition, the faultinterrupter instructions stored in the communication enabled circuitbreaker 104 and/or updated fault interrupter instructions may defineparameters associated with the communication enabled circuit breaker104.

Such parameters may include current rating, voltage rating, time currentcurve characteristics (e.g. the relationship between the sensedovercurrent and the time required under which to trip the communicationenabled circuit breaker 104), status, trip alarm, remote trip, singlephase or three phase, and the like. In a particular implementation, thefault interrupter instructions stored in the communication enabledcircuit breaker 104 and/or updated fault interrupter instructions mayalso include power metering instructions. The power meteringinstructions may enable the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 tomeasure energy, line and/or phase voltages, line frequency, line and/orphase current, and/or power consumption.

In one embodiment, the circuit breaker controller 106 includes a powersupply that is coupled to a line side phase connection. Likewise, eachof the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 includes a powersupply that is coupled to a line side phase connection of thecommunication enabled circuit breaker (e.g. before the set ofinterruptible contacts of the communication enabled circuit breaker104). The power supply may be a AC to DC converter, an AC to ACconverter, or the like. In general, the power supply is provided tocondition and/or convert a voltage of the line side phase and neutralelectrical connections to one or more voltages that are supplied tocomponents of the circuit breaker controller 106 and/or each of thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104. Furthermore, the powersupply may include one or more fuses to protect components of thecircuit breaker controller 106 and/or each of the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104. Advantageously, the circuit breaker controller 106and/or each of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 aresupplied with power even in the event of a load side incident thatcauses one or more of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 totrip.

In one embodiment, one or more of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104 are configured to automatically wirelessly transmit faultrelated information upon occurrence of a trip incident. In particular,one or more of the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 wirelesslytransmits such fault related information to the circuit breakercontroller 106. In one embodiment, the fault related information istransmitted using BLE. The fault related information may include, forexample, recorded parameters that may have caused the trip incident,parameters used to determine that tripping the communication enabledcircuit breaker 104 was necessary, a unique identifier of thecommunication enabled circuit breaker 104 that tripped (e.g., a uniquewireless circuit breaker serial number, or the like), a time and date ofthe trip incident, a load signature that caused the trip incident, azone or area that is without power as a result of the trip incident,etc. The circuit breaker controller 106 may disseminate the faultrelated information to one or more devices external of the circuitbreaker panel 102. For example, the circuit breaker controller 106 maywirelessly transmit the fault related information to one of the remoteentities 120. Therefore, a user or users of the remote entities 120 maybe made immediately aware of the trip incident by way of at least thetransmitted fault related information.

In another embodiment, one or more of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104 are configured to transmit status related information uponrequest by the circuit breaker controller 106. The request by thecircuit breaker controller 106 may be communicated to one or more of thewireless circuit breakers 104 using any of the techniques discussedherein (e.g., wireless or wired). The status related information mayinclude self-test related information provided by one or more of thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104. In one implementation, theself-test related information may include operational status ofcomponents associated with one or more of the communication enabledcircuit breakers 104.

As discussed above, one or more remote entities 120 (e.g., mobile device110, computing device 112 and/or the Internet cloud 114) may directlycommunicate with one or more of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104. For example, the mobile device 110 may provide updatedfault interrupter instructions to one or more of the communicationenabled circuit breakers 104. In such an embodiment, the one or moreremote entities 120 may communicate (e.g. via BLE) updated faultinterrupter instructions directly to one or more of the communicationenabled circuit breakers 104 without communicating through the circuitbreaker controller 106. Direct communication between a remote entity 120and the communication enabled circuit breakers 104 enables anelectrician (or other suitable user) to interface in real-time with thecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104 and conduct a number ofoperations, all from within the same application on the remote entity.For example, the electrician may put a communication enabled circuitbreaker 104 in a data acquisition/logging only mode, where when thecommunication enabled circuit breaker 104 is in the data acquisitiononly mode, the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 will not tripupon the occurrence of a fault but, rather, would pass the data inreal-time to the remote entity 120 for analysis by either the remoteentity 120, the electrician, or other suitable party.

For example, in the data acquisition only mode, the communicationenabled circuit breaker 104 may be configured to not trip upon theoccurrence of an arc fault, a ground fault, an overcurrent fault, or acombination of these. In other words, in the data acquisition only mode,the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 may be configured to tripupon detection of an overcurrent but not trip upon detection of an arcfault. In addition to the electrician, remote users may also communicatewith the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 and/or theelectrician via the same application on different devices. Additionally,the electrician can then iteratively make adjustments to the faultinterrupter instructions and transmit updated fault interrupterinstructions to the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 andanalyze the resulting data from the communication enabled circuitbreaker 104. In this manner, the fault interrupter instructions can berefined/tailored to avoid unintentional fault interrupts (e.g. nuisancetripping) of the communication enabled circuit breaker 104. Thisrefinement of the fault interrupter instructions may be done for anyparticular communication enabled circuit breaker 104 as required, aplurality of communication enabled circuit breakers 104, or everycommunication enabled circuit breaker 104 in the circuit breaker panel102. Likewise, the refinement of the fault interrupter instructions maybe implemented across multiple installations or be implemented globallyto all suitable breakers and in many or all installations. While thecommunication enabled circuit breaker 104 is in the data acquisitiononly mode, the communication enabled circuit breaker 104 may indicate,by any number of methods, when it would otherwise trip. Examples of suchindication include flashing of LED(s) or transmitting the indication tothe remote entity 120.

As described above, the present disclosure can be implemented to providecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104, circuit breaker controller106, and remote entities 120, arranged to communicate via either wiredor wireless communication protocols and technologies. However, forclarity of presentation, the following examples depict and describecommunication enabled circuit breakers 104 and a circuit breakercontroller 106 arranged to communicate via wireless communicationprotocols. As such, many of the communication enabled circuit breakers104 described in the following examples are referred to as “wirelesscircuit breakers” 104 or “communicating circuit breaker” 104. Likewise,the circuit breaker controller 106 may be referred to as a “wirelesscircuit breaker controller” 106. This is not intended to be limiting andthe example breakers, controller, remote entities, techniques, andsystems depicted and described below can be implemented with wiredcommunication technologies without departing from scope of thedisclosure. Additionally, the wireless circuit breakers 104 and thewireless circuit breaker controller 106 are described herein tocommunicate via BLE for purposes of convenience and clarity ofpresentation. This is also not intended to be limiting.

FIG. 2 illustrates the wireless circuit breaker 200 in accordance withan exemplary embodiment. In some examples, the wireless circuit breaker200 can be implemented as any one of the communication enabled circuitbreakers 104-1 to 104-1 of the system 100 of FIG. 1 . Generally, thewireless circuit breaker 200 may be used in a wide range of commercial,residential, and industrial circuit breaker panels. The wireless circuitbreaker 200 may be configured to operate in conjunction with differentelectrical power distribution systems, including single-phase,split-phase, 3-phase delta, and 3-phase star. These systems may operateat any suitable voltage such as 120/240 (120V phase-neutral, 240phase-to-phase), 120/208, 265/460, 277/480.

The wireless circuit breaker 200 includes multiple connections or“terminals.” Specifically, wireless circuit breaker 200 includes a lineside phase connection 202, a line side neutral connection 203, a loadside phase connection 204, and a load side neutral connection 205. Theline side phase connection 202 and line side neutral connection 203 arecoupled to a power source. The load side power phase connection 204 andload side neutral connection 205 are coupled to a load. Thus, currentcan enter the wireless circuit breaker 200 via the line side phaseconnection 202, exit the wireless circuit breaker 200 via the load sidephase connection 204, return to the wireless circuit breaker 200 viaload side neutral connection 205, and travel back to the power sourcevia line side neutral connection 203. The line side phase connection 202and neutral connection 203 may be coupled to a power source (e.g. anelectrical grid). The load side phase connection 204 and the load sideneutral connection 205 may be coupled to branch circuit that may feed aload (e.g., HVAC system, refrigerator, TV, etc.).

The wireless circuit breaker 200 may include a power supply 206. Thepower supply 206 receives an input power from the line side phaseconnection 202 and line side neutral connection 203. The power supply206 converts, in one implementation, an AC voltage to a regulated DCvoltage for use by some or all of the electrical components associatedwith the wireless circuit breaker 200. To that end, the voltage providedby the power supply 206 is uninterrupted even when the wireless circuitbreaker 200 is caused to trip as a result of a trip incident. In someexamples, the power supply 206 includes circuitry to condition thecurrent and/or voltage supplied to the electrical components of thewireless circuit breaker 200. In some examples, power supply 206includes a fuse, which can in some embodiments be replaceable, toprotect the power supply 206 and wireless circuit breaker 200 fromovercurrent conditions. In some examples, power supply 206 itselfincludes a circuit breaker to protect the power supply 206 and wirelesscircuit breaker 200 from overcurrent conditions. With some examples,power supply 207 can be arranged to compensate for various electricalconditions that may be present on the input line for the panel system102. For example, power supply 207 could be arranged to compensate forunder-voltage conditions, filter interference, or the like.

A memory 208 is disposed in the wireless circuit breaker 200. The memory208 is configured to store fault interrupter instructions 210. Thememory 208 may comprise an article of manufacture. In some examples, thememory 208 may include any non-transitory computer readable medium ormachine readable medium, such as an optical, magnetic or semiconductorstorage. The memory 208 may store various types of computer executableinstructions, such as the fault interrupter instructions 210. The memory208 may be coupled to a processor 212. Processor 212 could be any of avariety of processors, such as, for example, a central processing unit,a microprocessor, a field programmable gate array, an applicationspecific integrated circuit, or the like. Processor 212 can be arrangedto execute fault interrupter instructions 210 to aid in performing oneor more techniques described herein (e.g., cause the wireless circuitbreaker 200 to trip, cause the wireless circuit breaker 200 to transmitinformation pertaining to a trip incident, etc.).

The wireless circuit breaker 200 includes a fault interrupter 214 or a“circuit interrupter” 214. In one implementation, the fault interrupter214 is operable to interrupt faults (e.g., decouple the load side phaseconnection 204 from the line side phase connection 202) based in part onthe fault interrupter instructions 210 stored in the memory 208. As usedherein, the term “fault” could include any of a variety of conditionswith which it may be desirable for the wireless circuit breaker 200 todisconnect the line side connection from the load side connection. Forexample, “fault” may be a fault within the breaker, a fault on the loadside, a fault on the line side, or the like. As another example, “fault”may be a ground fault, an arc fault, an overcurrent fault, or the like.Examples are not limited in these contexts. The fault interrupter 214may comprise various hardware elements. In one example, the faultinterrupter 214 includes at least a trip solenoid and/or an energystorage element to trip the trip solenoid and cause the line sideconnection 202 to decouple from load side connection 204. In furtherexamples, the fault interrupter 214 can include a reset solenoid and/orenergy storage element to set the breaker 200 and cause the line sideconnection 202 to couple to the load side connection 204.

The fault interrupter instructions 210 may be executed (e.g., by faultinterrupter 214, by processor 212, or the like) to cause the tripsolenoid to break current flowing from the line side phase connection202 to the load side phase connection 204 in specific conditions. Forexample, when the current exceeds a threshold defined by the faultinterrupter instructions 210. In another example, the fault interrupter214 includes functionality, controllable by way of the fault interrupterinstructions 210, to sense characteristics of a line current, forexample an amount of current, a frequency of the current, high-frequencycurrent components, dynamic distribution of the frequency componentsover time and within a half cycle of a power line frequency, variousprofiles of power line characteristics, etc. As another example, thefault interrupter 214 includes functionality, controllable by way of thefault interrupter instructions 210, to set the breaker 200, such as,upon receipt of a control signal from a remote entity 120 where thecontrol signal includes an indication to set the breaker.

The fault interrupter 214 may be sensitive to radio frequency (RF)signals (i.e., wireless signals). Therefore, the fault interrupter 214may be partially or completely surrounded by an RF shielding 216. The RFshielding 216 may comprise any suitable material to attenuate wirelesssignals, for example, any ferrous material. In one implementation, theRF shielding 216 shields the fault interrupter 214 from wireless signalsgenerated by the: wireless circuit breaker 200, other wireless circuitbreakers 200, circuit breaker controller 106, and/or entities externalof the circuit breaker panel 102 (e.g., remote entities 120, or thelike).

The wireless circuit breaker 200 includes wireless communicationcomponents 218. The wireless communication components 218 enables thewireless circuit breaker 200 to communicate wirelessly using anysuitable type of wireless communication technology as described herein.Therefore, the wireless communication components 218 may include atleast a radio 226, antenna 224, and processor 222. In general, the radio226 can be any radio configured to communicate using a wirelesstransmission scheme, such as, for example, BLE. The antenna 224 can becoupled to radio 224 and configured to emit and receive RF signals. Forexample, the antenna 224 can emit RF signals received from the radio 226coupled between the radio 226 and the antenna 224. The antenna 224 couldbe any of a variety of antennas (or antenna arrays) having differentshapes and/or configurations arranged to emit/receive radio waves on aparticular frequency, range of frequencies, or the like. Furthermore,the antenna 224 could be internal to the housing 201 of the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 or external to the housing 201 of the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. Processor 222 can be any of a variety of processors(e.g., application processor, baseband processors, etc.) arranged toperform at least transmission and reception of wireless signalsassociated with the wireless circuit breaker 200.

As described, the wireless communication components 218 receives powerfrom the power supply 206, which is coupled to the line side phaseconnection 202 and line side neutral connection 203. Therefore, thewireless communication components 218 enable the wireless circuitbreaker 200 to communicate wirelessly even in the event that the faultinterrupter 214 interrupts current flowing between the line side phaseconnection 202 and the load side phase connection 204.

An indicator may be implemented on the wireless circuit breaker 200. Theindicator may be any suitable type of indicator such as a visual oraudible indicator including but not limited to, an LED, neon bulb,and/or piezoelectric buzzer. In the present embodiment, the indicator isa light emitting diode (LED) 220. The LED 220 may be illuminated to apredefined color, illumination pattern, and/or illumination frequency,when the wireless circuit breaker 200 is in an update mode. The updatemode indicates that the wireless circuit breaker 200 is ready to receiveupdated fault interrupter instructions for storage in the memory 208from a remote entity 120. In some implementations, when the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 is an update mode, the wireless circuit breaker 200is open or tripped. In some implementations, when the wireless circuitbreaker 200 is an update mode, the wireless circuit breaker 200 isunable to provide tripping functionality.

The wireless circuit breaker 104 may comprise a housing 201. The housing201 may be a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) housing. In someimplementations, the MCB housing has a width of 1 inch. It is noted,that the dimensions of the breakers are given for example only. Breakerwidths could be any width, e.g., ½ inch, ¾ inch, 1 inch, 1½ inches, 2inches, or the like.

As noted above, with some implementations, wireless circuit breaker 200can include a “diagnostic mode” or a data acquisition only mode. In sucha mode, the wireless circuit breaker 200 may be configured to not tripupon occurrence of a selected faults. For example, the wireless circuitbreaker 200 can be a combination AFCI/GFCI breaker. However, uponinitialization of the data acquisition only mode, the breaker may bearranged to trip upon occurrence of a GFCI fault but not an AFCI fault.The wireless circuit breaker 200 can be arranged to log data (e.g., saveindications of operating conditions, or the like) to memory 208. Suchlogged data may be transmitted to a remote entity (e.g., via circuitbreaker controller, or the like) and used by a manufacturer ortechnician to diagnose false AFCI tripping and/or nuisance trippingissues and to generate and/or develop new firmware (which can includefault interruption instructions) for wireless circuit breaker 200.

With some examples, wireless circuit breaker 200 could be deployed as a“diagnostic breaker,” which may include a handle (like the reset switchof conventional circuit breakers) to place the wireless circuit breaker200 in the diagnostic mode. Furthermore, the wireless circuit breaker200 may include multiple indications (e.g., LEDs 220, or the like). Forexample, wireless circuit breaker 200 could include an LED 220 arrangedto illuminate when the breaker is in a normal mode (e.g., arranged totrip on AFCI, GFCI, or both AFCI and GFCI). As a specific example, thewireless circuit breaker 200 could include an LED 220 arranged toilluminate when the breaker is configured to monitor and trip for GFCIand another LED 220 arranged to illuminate when the breaker isconfigured to monitor and trip for AFCI. As another example, thewireless circuit breaker 200 could include an LED 220 to indicate whenthe breaker is in a diagnostic mode.

FIG. 3 illustrates the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. In some examples, the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300 can be implemented as the circuit breakercontroller 106 of the system 100 of FIG. 1 . Generally, the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300 may be used a wide range of commercial,residential, and industrial circuit breaker panels. In one embodiment,the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 is implemented in thecircuit breaker panel 102. In an alternative embodiment, the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300 is coupled to the circuit breaker panel102 in an external arrangement. For example, in an alternativeimplementation of the wireless circuit breaker controller 300, thewireless circuit breaker controller 300 is part of a mobile device, suchas a mobile phone, having hardware/software functionality to enable themobile device to function as the described wireless circuit breakercontroller 300.

A memory 302 is disposed in the wireless circuit breaker controller 300.The memory 302 is configured to store updated fault interrupterinstructions 304. The memory 302 may comprise an article of manufacture.In some examples, the memory 302 may include any non-transitory computerreadable medium or machine readable medium, such as an optical, magneticor semiconductor storage. The memory 302 may store various types ofcomputable executable instructions, such as the updated faultinterrupter instructions 304.

The memory 302 may be coupled to a processor 306. Processor 306 could beany of a variety of processors, such as, for example, a centralprocessing unit, a microprocessor, a field programmable gate array, anapplication specific integrated circuit, or the like. Processor 306 canbe arranged to execute instructions stored in the memory 302 to aid inperforming one or more techniques described herein (e.g., cause theupdated fault interrupter instructions 304 to be sent to one or more ofthe wireless circuit breakers 200, receive fault information includingunique identifiers associated with wireless circuit breakers 200 and atime and date of a trip incident that caused fault interrupters 214 tointerrupt the current flow between line side phase connection 202 andload side phase connection 204, etc.).

The wireless circuit breaker controller 300 may include a power supply308. The power supply 308 is to convert, in one implementation, an ACvoltage to a regulated DC voltage for use by some or all of theelectrical components associated with the wireless circuit breakercontroller 300. With some examples, power supply 308 can includemultiple “hot” terminals and a neutral terminal. Thus, power supply 308could receive power from either “hot” wire to provide redundancy. In thecase of multi-phase systems, the power supply 308 could be arranged tocouple to multiple phases to provide redundancy for the loss of one ofphases.

The wireless circuit breaker controller 300 includes wirelesscommunication components 310. The wireless communication components 310enable the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 to communicatewirelessly using any suitable type of wireless communication technology(e.g., a short-range wireless/near field wireless technology,Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, ZigBee®, etc.). Therefore, the wireless communicationcomponents 310 may include at least radio 318-1, which may include radioand transmitting and receiving circuitry, antenna 316-1, and processor314-1. In general, the radio 318-1 can be any radio configured tocommunicate using a wireless transmission scheme, such as, for example,BLE. The antenna 316-1 can be coupled to radio 318-1 and configured toemit and receive RF signals. For example, the antenna 316-1 can emit RFsignals received from the radio 318-1 coupled between the radio 318-1and the antenna 316-1. The antenna 316-1 could be any of a variety ofantennas (or antenna arrays) having different shapes and/orconfigurations arranged to emit/receive radio waves on a particularfrequency, range of frequencies, or the like. Processor 314-1 can be anyof a variety of processors (e.g., application processor, basebandprocessors, etc.) arranged to perform at least transmission andreception of wireless signals associated with the wireless circuitbreaker controller 300. Furthermore, the antenna 316-1 could be internalto the physical housing of the wireless circuit breaker controller 300or external to the housing of the wireless circuit breaker controller300.

As detailed, some embodiments provide wireless communication components310 of wireless circuit breaker controller 300 can be operablecommunicate over a number of wireless frequencies or schemes. As such,processor 314-1, radio 318-1 and antenna 316-1 could be arranged tocommunicate over multiple wireless communication technologies, such as,for example, BLE and Wi-Fi. In other examples, wireless communicationcomponents 310 can include multiple sets of processor, radio andantenna. For example, as depicted, components 310 further include radio318-2, antenna 316-2 and processor 314-2. Thus, the first set of radio318-1, antenna 316-1 and processor 314-1 can be arranged to communicateusing a first wireless communication scheme, such as, BLE while thesecond set of radio 318-2, antenna 316-2 and processor 314-2 can bearranged to communicate using a second wireless communication scheme,such as, Wi-Fi.

The wireless circuit breaker controller 300 may further include awireline network interface 312. The wireline network interface 312enables the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 to be coupled via awireline connection to various devices. For example, in oneimplementation, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 is astandalone device that may be wireline connected (e.g., via Ethernet) toa remote device (e.g., Internet cloud 114) and wirelessly connected tobreakers 104 within the circuit breaker panel 102. In such an example,the controller 300 could optionally omit one of the wirelesscommunication components (e.g., wireless communication components 310arranged to communicate via Wi-Fi, or the like). As another example, thewireless circuit breaker controller 300 could be wireless coupled towireless circuit breakers (e.g., wireless circuit breaker 200, or thelike) via wireless communication components 310 and coupled via a wiredcommunication connection to other communication enabled circuit breakers(not shown) via wireline network interface 312.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate logic flows, implementable by a communicationenabled circuit breaker and panel system, such as, the system 100 ofFIG. 1 . In general, these logic flows can be implemented by anycommunication enabled circuit breaker and panel system or component(s)of such a system, such as, the system 100, communication enabled circuitbreakers 104-n, circuit breaker controller 106, remote entity 120,communication enabled circuit breaker 200, circuit breaker controller400, and/or the like. The following description of FIGS. 4-6 referenceremote entity 120, controller 300 and breaker 200 for purposes ofconvenience and clarity only. However, it is to be understood that thelogic flows described could be implemented by different combinations ofcomponents of a communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Furthermore, it is noted that the operations for the depicted logicflows may occur sequentially and/or be made in parallel. Additionally,the operations for the depicted logic flows are not illustrated in arequired order, unless dictated by the context or specifically statesherein. That is, a different order other than that illustrated may beused. Some or all of the communications and operations associated withthe logic flows may be embodied as one or more computer executableinstruction. Such computer executable instructions may be stored in thestorage medium, such as the memory 208 and/or the memory 302. Acomputing device, such as the processor 212 and/or the processor 306,may execute the stored computer executable instructions to implement thelogic flows or cause the respective devices to implement the logicflows.

FIG. 4 illustrates a logic flow 400 depicting communication between awireless circuit breaker controller 300 and a wireless circuit breaker200. The logic flow 400 may provide updated fault interrupterinstructions that may replace fault interrupter instructions stored in amemory. The left side of FIG. 4 shows communications transmitted andreceived by the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 while the rightside of FIG. 4 shows communications transmitted and received by thewireless circuit breaker 200.

The logic flow 400 may begin with communication 402. However, the logicflow 400 may begin with a different communication other than thecommunication 402. At communication 402, the wireless circuit breakercontroller 300 sends an update control signal to the wireless circuitbreaker 200. The update control signal is to cause the wireless circuitbreaker 200 to enter an update mode 404. For example, the update controlsignal may cause the wireless circuit breaker 200 to open or trip.Alternatively, the update control signal may cause the wireless circuitbreaker 200 to disable tripping functionality while leaving the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 in the “closed” position. Furthermore, the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 may illuminate and associated LED (e.g., the LED220) in the update mode. In one implementation, the LED will flashduring the update mode. For example, the LED may flash red during theupdate mode and then transition to a solid green after the update modeis complete.

At communication 406, the wireless circuit breaker 200 communicates anupdate ready signal. The update ready signal indicates that the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 is ready to receive updated information, such asupdated fault interrupter instructions. In some examples, the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 may only communicate an update ready signal if thewireless circuit breaker 200 is in the open position (e.g., update modeproperly entered at 404, etc.). In one embodiment, the update readysignal may be communicated to include wireless circuit breaker 200information that pertains to the wireless circuit breaker 200. In oneimplementation, the wireless circuit breaker information includes atleast a unique identifier of the wireless circuit breaker 200 andinformation indicating functionalities associated with the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. For example, the information may identify that thewireless circuit breaker 200 is an AFCI, GFCI, or AFCI/GFCI, etc.,wireless circuit breaker. The wireless circuit breaker information(e.g., the wireless circuit breaker type) may be used by the wirelesscircuit breaker controller to select appropriate updated faultinterrupter instructions for communication to the wireless circuitbreaker 200.

At communication 408, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300communicates updated fault interrupter instructions to the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. At block 410, the wireless circuit breaker 200validates the updated fault interrupter instructions received from thewireless circuit breaker controller 300. In one implementation, thevalidation process involves a checksum verification process in which achecksum associated with the updated fault interrupter instructions iscompared against a checksum associated with fault interrupterinstructions previously stored in the wireless circuit breaker 200. Ifthe validation fails, the circuit breaker may not use the updated faultinterrupter instructions to replace the fault interrupter instructionspreviously stored in the wireless circuit breaker 200. At block 412, thewireless circuit breaker stores the updated fault interrupterinstructions and an associated memory. Storing the updated faultinterrupter instructions in the associated memory may includeoverwriting at least a portion of the fault interrupter instructionspreviously stored in the associated memory of the wireless circuitbreaker 200.

At communication 414, the wireless circuit breaker 200 communicates avalidation signal to the wireless circuit breaker controller 300. Thevalidation signal confirms that the updated fault interrupterinstructions have been validated for storage in the wireless circuitbreaker 200 and/or that the updated fault interrupter instructions havebeen stored in the associated memory of the wireless circuit breaker200. At block 416, the wireless circuit breaker 200 terminates updatemode. In some examples, the wireless circuit breaker 200 can perform aself-test or other integrity check operation after the updated process,and in some cases, prior to terminating the update mode. With someexamples, the wireless circuit breaker 200 may be able to restore and/orreturn to to pre-update condition (e.g., restore firmware from a backup,or the like) if the self-test fails. FIG. 5 illustrates a logic flow 500associated with a wireless circuit breaker controller such as wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300. The logic flow 500 may begin with block502. At block 502, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 sends anupdate control signal to a wireless circuit breaker (e.g., the wirelesscircuit breaker 200). The update control signal is to cause the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 to enter an update mode. The wireless circuitbreaker 200 disables tripping functionality associated therewith in theupdate mode. For example, the update control signal may cause thewireless circuit breaker 200 to shut down or turn off. Alternatively,the update control signal may cause the wireless circuit breaker 200 totrip or open. Furthermore, the wireless circuit breaker 200 mayilluminate and associated LED (e.g., the LED 220) in the update mode. Inone implementation, the LED will flash during the update mode. Forexample, the LED may flash red during the update mode and thentransition to a solid green after the update mode is complete.

At block 504, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 receives anupdate ready signal. The update ready signal indicates that a wirelesscircuit breaker 200 is ready to receive updated information, such asupdated fault interrupter instructions. In one embodiment, the updateready signal may be communicated to include wireless circuit breakerinformation that pertains to the wireless circuit breaker 200. In oneimplementation, the wireless circuit breaker information includes atleast a unique identifier of the wireless circuit breaker 200 andinformation indicating functionalities associated with the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. For example, the information may identify that thewireless circuit breaker 200 is an AFCI, GFCI, or AFCI/GFCI, etc.,wireless circuit breaker. The wireless circuit breaker information(e.g., the wireless circuit breaker type) may be used by the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300 to select appropriate updated faultinterrupter instructions for communication to the wireless circuitbreaker 200.

At block 506, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 communicatesupdated fault interrupter instructions to the wireless circuit breaker200.

At block 508, the wireless circuit breaker controller 300 receives avalidation signal. The validation signal confirms that the updated faultinterrupter instructions have been validated for storage in the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 and/or that the updated fault interrupterinstructions have been stored in the associated memory of the wirelesscircuit breaker 200.

FIG. 6 illustrates a logic flow 600 associated with a wireless circuitbreaker 200. The logic flow 600 may begin with block 602. At block 602,a wireless circuit breaker 200 receives an update control signal orupdate command. The update control signal is to cause the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 to enter an update mode. In the update mode, thewireless circuit breaker 200 disables tripping functionality associatedtherewith. For example, the update control signal may cause the wirelesscircuit breaker 200 to shut down or turn off. Alternatively, the updatecontrol signal may cause the wireless circuit breaker 200 to trip oropen. Furthermore, the wireless circuit breaker 200 may illuminate anindicator (e.g., the LED 220) in the update mode. In one implementation,the LED will flash during the update mode. For example, the LED mayflash red during the update mode and then transition to a solid greenafter the update mode is complete.

At block 604, the wireless circuit breaker 200 enters update mode. Forexample, the wireless circuit breaker 200 can open to decouple the loadside phase connection from the line side phase connection. At block 606,the wireless circuit breaker 200 determines whether the update mode wasentered. For example, the wireless circuit breaker 200 can determinewhether the fault interrupter is open or closed. From block 606, thelogic flow 600 can branch based on whether the update mode was entered.In particular, as depicted, logic flow 600 can continue to block 608based on a determination that the update was entered.

At block 608, the wireless circuit breaker 200 transmits an update readysignal. The update ready signal indicates that a wireless circuitbreaker 200 is ready to receive updated information, such as updatedfault interrupter instructions. In one embodiment, the update readysignal may be communicated to include wireless circuit breakerinformation that pertains to the wireless circuit breaker 200. In oneimplementation, the wireless circuit breaker information includes atleast a unique identifier of the wireless circuit breaker 200 andinformation indicating functionalities associated with the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. For example, the information may identify that thewireless circuit breaker 200 is an AFCI, GFCI, or AFCI/GFCI, etc.,wireless circuit breaker. The wireless circuit breaker information(e.g., the wireless circuit breaker type) may be used by the wirelesscircuit breaker controller 300 to select appropriate updated faultinterrupter instructions for communication to the wireless circuitbreaker 200.

At block 610, the wireless circuit breaker 200 receives updated faultinterrupter instructions. In one implementation, the updated faultinterrupter instructions are received from a wireless circuit breakercontroller 300. At block 612, the wireless circuit breaker 200 transmitsa validation signal. The validation signal confirms that the updatedfault interrupter instructions have been validated for storage in thewireless circuit breaker and/or that the updated fault interrupterinstructions have been stored in the associated memory of the wirelesscircuit breaker 200. At block 614, the wireless circuit breaker 200terminates update mode.

As detailed, from block 606, the logic flow 600 can branch based onwhether the update mode was entered. In particular, as depicted, logicflow 600 can continue to block 616 based on a determination that theupdate was not entered. At block 616, the wireless circuit breaker 200transmits an update not ready signal.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a storage medium 700. The storagemedium 700 may comprise an article of manufacture. In some examples, thestorage medium 700 may include any non-transitory computer readablemedium or machine readable medium, such as an optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage. Examples of a computer readable ormachine-readable storage medium may include any tangible media capableof storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatilememory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasablememory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples ofcomputer executable instructions may include any suitable type of code,such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code,static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and thelike. The examples are not limited in this context. The memory 208 maybe one or more memory chips capable of storing data and allowing anystorage location to be directly accessed by the processor 212, such asany type or variant of static random-access memory (SRAM), dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), NAND Flash, NORFlash and Solid State Drives (SSD).

The storage medium 700 may store various types of processor executableinstructions e.g., 702). For example, storage medium 700 can be coupledto processor(s) described herein (e.g., processor 212, processor 222,processor 306, processor 314-1, processor 314-2, etc.) while suchprocessor(s) can be arranged to execute instructions 702. Thus, thestorage medium 700 may store various types of computer executableinstructions to implement logic flow 400. The storage medium 700 maystore various types of computer executable instructions to implementlogic flow 500. The storage medium 700 may store various types ofcomputer executable instructions to implement logic flow 600.

Examples of a computer readable or machine-readable storage medium mayinclude any tangible media capable of storing electronic data, includingvolatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removablememory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeablememory, and so forth. Examples of computer executable instructions mayinclude any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code,interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code,object-oriented code, visual code, and the like. The examples are notlimited in this context.

While a wireless circuit breaker and panel system, a wireless circuitbreaker controller, wireless technology enabled circuit breakers and amethod for using the same have been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made, and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the claims of the application.Other modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings disclosed above without departing from thescope of the claims. Therefore, the claims should not be construed asbeing limited to any one of the particular embodiments disclosed, but toany embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims.

Furthermore, the following examples are provided to more fully describedthe embodiments of the present disclosure:

Example 1. A communicating circuit breaker for use in a panel systemwith a communicating circuit breaker controller, the communicatingcircuit breaker comprising: a line side phase connection; a load sidephase connection; a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions; acircuit interrupter; a processor communicatively coupled to the memoryand the circuit interrupter; and a wireless radio configured tocommunicate with the communicating circuit breaker controller, whereinthe processor executes the fault interrupter instructions to cause thecircuit interrupter to interrupt a current flow between the line sidephase connection and the load side phase connection upon detection of afault.

Example 2. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, furthercomprising a power supply coupled to the line side phase connection.

Example 3. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, furthercomprising a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) housing.

Example 4. The communicating circuit breaker of example 3, wherein theMCB housing has a width which does not exceed 1 inch.

Example 5. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, wherein thecommunicating circuit breaker is configured to broadcast informationrelated to the fault detection.

Example 6. The communicating circuit breaker of example 5, wherein thecommunicating circuit breaker is configured to broadcast the informationautomatically upon detection of the fault or when instructed by thecommunicating circuit breaker controller.

Example 7. The communicating circuit breaker of example 5, wherein thebroadcast information includes one or more of a unique identifier of thecommunicating circuit breaker, a time stamp, and a date stamp.

Example 8. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, furthercomprising radio frequency (RF) shielding material disposed at leastpartially around the communicating circuit interrupter.

Example 9. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, wherein thewireless radio is configured to communicate using over a personal areanetwork.

Example 10. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, the memoryfurther comprising a firmware and firmware update instructions, whereinthe communicating circuit breaker is configured to receive via thewireless radio a firmware update command from the circuit breakercontroller.

Example 11. The communicating circuit breaker of example 10, wherein theprocessor is configured to execute the firmware update instructions tocause the communicating circuit breaker to enter an update mode, theupdate mode comprising: the current flow between the line side phaseconnection and the load side phase connection being interrupted;preventing restoring of the current flow between the line side phaseconnection and the load side phase connection; and broadcasting afirmware update ready signal to the circuit breaker controller.

Example 12. The communicating circuit breaker of example 11, wherein thecurrent flow is interrupted by the processor sending an interruptcontrol signal to the circuit interrupter upon executing the firmwareupdate instructions.

Example 13. The communicating circuit breaker of example 12, wherein thecurrent flow is prevented from being restored by the processor sending areset disable control signal to the circuit interrupter upon executingthe firmware update instructions.

Example 14. The communicating circuit breaker of example 11, wherein thecurrent flow is interrupted by a manual operation of a user.

Example 15. The communicating circuit breaker of example 11, wherein thefirmware update ready signal is not broadcast to the circuit breakercontroller until both the current flow is interrupted and the currentflow is prevented from being restored.

Example 16. The communicating circuit breaker of example 11, wherein theprocessor is configured to execute the firmware update instructions inthe update mode to further cause the communicating circuit breaker to:receive an updated firmware from the circuit breaker controller via thewireless radio; and overwrite at least a portion of the firmware in thememory with the updated firmware.

Example 17. The communicating circuit breaker of example 16, wherein theprocessor is configured to execute the firmware update instructions inthe update mode to further cause the communicating circuit breaker to:validate the updated firmware before overwriting the firmware in memory,the validation being based at least in part on a checksum validation.

Example 18. The communicating circuit breaker of example 10, wherein theprocessor is configured to execute the firmware update instructions tocause the communicating circuit breaker to send an information elementvia the wireless radio to the communicating circuit breaker controllercomprising an indication of at least one of a circuit breaker type, aserial number, a model number, or a firmware version number.

Example 19. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, wherein thecommunicating circuit breaker initiates communication via the wirelessradio with the communicating circuit breaker controller automaticallywhen the circuit interrupter interrupts the current flow between theline side phase connection and the load side phase connection.

Example 20. The communicating circuit breaker of example 1, wherein thecommunicating circuit breaker initiates a communication via the wirelessradio with the communicating circuit breaker controller automaticallyupon detection of the fault.

Example 21. The communicating circuit breaker of example 20, wherein thecommunication includes fault information, the fault informationincluding a unique identifier of the circuit breaker and a time and dateof the fault detection.

Example 22. The communicating circuit breaker of example 10, wherein thefirmware comprises the fault interrupter instructions.

Example 23. A communication enabled circuit breaker and panel system,comprising: a circuit breaker controller, comprising a first wirelessradio; and at least one communication enabled circuit breaker,comprising: a line side phase connection; a load side phase connection;a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions; a circuitinterrupter; a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and thecircuit interrupter; and a second wireless radio configured tocommunicate with the first wireless radio, wherein the processor toexecute the fault interrupter instructions to cause the circuitinterrupter to interrupt a current flow between the line side phaseconnection and the load side phase connection upon detection of a fault.

Example 24. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, the at least one communication enabled circuit breakercomprising, a power supply coupled to the line side phase connection.

Example 25. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, comprising a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) housing, theat least one communicating circuit breaker disposed in the MCB housing.

Example 26. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 25, wherein the MCB housing has a width which does not exceed1 inch.

Example 27. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, comprising a plurality of communication enabled circuitbreakers, each of the plurality of communication enabled circuitbreakers configured to broadcast information related to the faultdetection.

Example 28. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 27, wherein each of the plurality of communication enabledcircuit breakers are configured to broadcast the informationautomatically upon detection of the fault or when instructed by thecircuit breaker controller.

Example 29. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 27, wherein the broadcast information includes one or more ofa unique identifier of the communication enabled circuit breaker, a timestamp, or a date stamp.

Example 30. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, the at least one communication enabled circuit breakercomprising radio frequency (RF) shielding material disposed at leastpartially around the circuit interrupter.

Example 31. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, wherein the second wireless radio is a personal areanetwork wireless radio.

Example 32. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, the memory comprising a firmware and firmware updateinstructions, the at least one communication enabled circuit breaker toreceive a command from the circuit breaker controller via a wirelesscommunication channel established between the first wireless radio andthe second wireless radio, the command to include an indication toupdate the firmware.

Example 33. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 32, the processor to execute the firmware update instructionsto cause the at least one communication enabled circuit breaker to enteran update mode, comprising: sending a control signal to the circuitinterrupter to cause the circuit interrupter to interrupt a current flowbetween the line side phase connection and the load side phase; sendinga control signal to the circuit interrupter to prevent restoring thecurrent flow between the line side phase connection and the load sidephase connection; and broadcast a firmware update ready signal to thecircuit breaker controller in response to the at least one communicationenabled circuit breaker entering the update mode.

Example 34. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 33, the processor to execute the firmware update instructionsto further cause the at least one communication enabled circuit breakerto: receive an updated firmware from the circuit breaker controller viathe wireless communication channel; and overwrite at least a portion ofthe firmware in the memory with the updated firmware based on the atleast one communication enabled circuit breaker entering the updatemode.

Example 35. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 34, the processor to execute the firmware update instructionsto further cause the at least one communication enabled circuit breakerto: validate an of the updated firmware received from the circuitbreaker controller based at least in part on a checksum validation; andoverwrite at least a portion of the firmware in the memory with theupdated firmware in response to the updated firmware passing thechecksum validation.

Example 36. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 33, the processor to execute the firmware update instructionsto further cause the at least one communication enabled circuit breakerto send an information element to the circuit breaker controllercomprising an indication of at least one of a circuit breaker type, aserial number, a model number, or a firmware version number.

Example 37. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 23, wherein the first wireless radio initiates wirelesscommunication with the second wireless radio automatically when thecircuit interrupter interrupts the current flow between the line sidephase connection and the load side phase connection.

Example 38. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 37, the wireless communication includes at least faultinformation including a unique identifier of the circuit breaker and atime and date of a trip incident that caused the fault interrupter tointerrupt the current flow between the line side phase connection andthe load side phase connection.

Example 39. The communication enabled circuit breaker and panel systemof example 32, wherein the firmware comprises the fault interrupterinstructions.

Example 40. A method to update a wireless circuit breaker, comprising:wirelessly receiving an update control signal at the wireless circuitbreaker; initiating an update mode of the wireless circuit breaker;wirelessly receiving updated fault interrupter instructions at thewireless circuit breaker; and validating the wirelessly received updatedfault interrupter instructions.

Example 41. The method of example 40, wherein the updated control signalis received from a circuit breaker controller, a mobile phone, or theInternet.

Example 42. The method of example 40, comprising: updating the wirelesscircuit breaker based in part on the updated fault interrupterinstructions; and running a self-test on the wireless circuit breaker inresponse to the update.

Example 43. The method of example 42, comprising restoring the wirelesscircuit breaker to a pre-update condition in response to a failure ofthe self-test.

Example 44. The method of example 40, comprising overwriting at least aportion of stored fault interrupter instructions with the updated faultinterrupter instructions.

Example 45. The method of example 40, wherein initiating the update modeof the wireless circuit breaker comprises at least disabling resettingfunctionality of the wireless circuit breaker.

Example 46. The method of example 45, wherein initiating the update modeof the wireless circuit breaker comprises turning off the circuitbreaker.

Example 47. The method of example 40, wherein initiating the update modeof the wireless circuit breaker comprises illuminating a light emittingdiode (LED) of the wireless circuit breaker to indicate that thewireless circuit breaker is in the update mode.

Example 48. A wireless circuit breaker and panel system, comprising: awireless circuit breaker controller, comprising a first wireless radio;and at least one wireless circuit breaker, comprising: a line side phaseconnection; a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions; a faultinterrupter coupled to the memory, the fault interrupter to interrupt acurrent flow on the line side phase connection based at least in part onthe fault interrupter instructions; and a second wireless radio coupledto the memory, the second wireless radio to receive a signal from thefirst wireless radio, the signal to include an indication to update thefault interrupter instructions.

Example 49. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,the wireless circuit breaker comprising a load side phase connection, apower supply coupled to the line side phase connection, the memory, andthe second wireless radio, the power supply configured to provide powerto the memory and the second wireless radio, and the fault interrupterto interrupt a current flow between the line side phase connection andthe load side phase connection based at least in part on the faultinterrupter instructions.

Example 50. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,comprising a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) housing, the at least onewireless circuit breaker disposed in the MCB housing.

Example 51. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 50,the MCB housing has a width which does not exceed 1 inch.

Example 52. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,comprising a plurality of wireless circuit breakers, each of theplurality of wireless circuit breakers comprising a second wirelessradio and a processor, the processor of each of the plurality ofwireless breakers configured to initiate wireless communication of thesecond wireless radio only in the event of a trip incident or wheninstructed by the wireless circuit breaker controller.

Example 53. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,comprising a radio frequency (RF) shielding material at least partiallysurrounding the fault interrupter, the RF shielding material toattenuate wireless communication signals.

Example 54. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 53,the wireless communication includes at least fault information includinga unique identifier of the at least one wireless circuit breaker and atime and date of a trip incident that caused the fault interrupter tointerrupt the current flow on the line side phase connection.

Example 55. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,the second wireless radio initiates wireless communication with thewireless circuit breaker controller automatically when the faultinterrupter interrupts the current flow on the line side phaseconnection.

Example 56. The wireless circuit breaker and panel system of example 48,the second wireless radio is a Bluetooth® enabled wireless radio.

Example 57. A wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker,comprising: a line side phase connection; a load side phase connection;a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions; a fault interruptercoupled to the memory, the fault interrupter to interrupt a current flowbetween the line side phase connection and the load side phaseconnection based at least in part on the fault interrupter instructions;and a wireless radio coupled to the memory, the wireless radio toreceive a wireless signal, the wireless signal to include an indicationto update the fault interrupter instructions.

Example 58. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 57, comprising a power supply coupled to the line side phaseconnection, the memory, and the wireless radio, the power supplyconfigured to source power from the line side phase connection andsupply power to the memory and the wireless radio.

Example 59. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 57, comprising a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) housing, thewirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker disposed in the MCBhousing.

Example 60. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 59, the MCB housing has a width of 1 inch.

Example 61. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 57, comprising a radio frequency (RF) shielding material atleast partially surrounding the fault interrupter, the RF shieldingmaterial to attenuate wireless communication signals.

Example 62. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 57, the wireless radio initiates wireless communicationautomatically when the fault interrupter interrupts the current flowbetween the line side phase connection and the load side phaseconnection.

Example 63. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 62, the wireless communication includes at least faultinformation including a unique identifier of the wirelessly upgradablewireless circuit breaker and a time and date of a trip incident thatcaused the fault interrupter to interrupt the current flow between theline side phase connection and the load side phase connection.

Example 64. The wirelessly upgradable wireless circuit breaker ofexample 57, the wireless radio is a Bluetooth® enabled wireless radio.

Example 65. A method to update a wireless circuit breaker, comprising:wirelessly receiving an update control signal at the wireless circuitbreaker; initiating an update mode of the wireless circuit breaker;wirelessly receiving updated fault interrupter instructions at thewireless circuit breaker; and validating the wirelessly received updatedfault interrupter instructions.

Example 66. The method to update the wireless circuit breaker of example65, comprising overwriting at least a portion of stored faultinterrupter instructions with the updated fault interrupterinstructions.

Example 67. The method to update the wireless circuit breaker of example65, the initiating the update mode of the wireless circuit breakerincludes at least disabling tripping functionality of the wirelesscircuit breaker.

Example 68. The method to update the wireless circuit breaker of example65, the initiating the update mode of the wireless circuit breakerincludes illuminating a light emitting diode (LED) of the wirelesscircuit breaker to indicate that the wireless circuit breaker is in theupdate mode.

Example 69. A method to provide updated fault interrupter instructions,comprising: wirelessly receiving an update ready signal indicating thata wireless circuit breaker is in an update mode; wirelessly transmittingupdated fault interrupter instructions, the updated fault interrupterinstructions wirelessly transmitted by a wireless circuit breakercontroller; and receiving a validation signal indicating that theupdated fault interrupter instructions were received by the wirelesscircuit breaker.

Example 70. The method to provide the updated fault interrupterinstructions of example 69, the update ready signal indicates that thewireless circuit breaker has disabled tripping functionality of thewireless circuit breaker.

Example 71. The method to provide the updated fault interrupterinstructions of example 69, the validation signal confirms that theupdated fault interrupter instructions are stored in a memory of thewireless circuit breaker.

Example 72. The method to provide the updated fault interrupterinstructions of example 69, comprising wirelessly transmitting an updatecontrol signal to the wireless circuit breaker, and wirelessly receivingthe update ready signal in response to the update control signal, theupdate ready signal including wireless circuit breaker information.

Example 73. The method to provide the updated fault interrupterinstructions of example 72, the wireless circuit breaker informationincludes at least a unique identifier of the wireless circuit breakerand information indicating functionalities associated with the wirelesscircuit breaker.

We claim:
 1. A communicating circuit breaker for use in a panel systemwith a communicating circuit breaker controller, the communicatingcircuit breaker comprising: a line side phase connection; a load sidephase connection; a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions; acircuit interrupter; a processor communicatively coupled to the memoryand the circuit interrupter; and a wireless radio configured to:establish a first direct wireless connection with a communicatingcircuit breaker controller; and establish a second direct wirelessconnection with a remote entity that is separate from the panel systemand wherein the remote entity is located outside of a panel of the panelsystem; wherein the processor executes the fault interrupterinstructions to cause the circuit interrupter to interrupt a currentflow between the line side phase connection and the load side phaseconnection upon detection of a fault; and wherein the communicatingcircuit breaker is capable of selectively transmitting information onthe first and second direct wireless connections, the information beingrelated to the fault detection.
 2. The communicating circuit breaker ofclaim 1, wherein when the communicating circuit breaker is instructed toby the communicating circuit breaker controller or the remote entity,circuit breaker selectively transmits the information on one or both ofthe first and second direct wireless connections.
 3. The communicatingcircuit breaker of claim 1, wherein circuit breaker is configured toselectively transmit the information on both of the first and seconddirect wireless connections.
 4. The communicating circuit breaker ofclaim 1, wherein the first or second direct wireless connection is apersonal area network.
 5. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 1,wherein the information is a status.
 6. The communicating circuitbreaker of claim 1, wherein the information is self-test information. 7.The communicating circuit breaker of claim 1, wherein the information isthe operational status of one or more of the memory, circuitinterrupter, processor, or wireless radio.
 8. A communicating circuitbreaker comprising for use with a communicating circuit breakercontroller and a remote entity, the communicating circuit breakercomprising: a line side phase connection; a load side phase connection;a memory comprising fault interrupter instructions and operatingparameters, the operating parameters comprising one or more of: acurrent rating; a voltage rating; a time-current curve; or a number ofline side phases; a circuit interrupter; a processor communicativelycoupled to the memory and the circuit interrupter; and a wireless radioconfigured to: establish a first direct wireless connection with acommunicating circuit breaker controller; and establish a second directwireless connection with a remote entity that is separate from the panelsystem and wherein the remote entity is located outside of the panel;wherein the processor executes the fault interrupter instructions tocause the circuit interrupter to interrupt a current flow between theline side phase connection and the load side phase connection upondetection of a fault; and wherein the communicating circuit breaker iscapable of selectively transmitting information on the first and seconddirect wireless connections, wherein the information comprises one ormore of a status, a trip alarm, fault information, or the operatingparameters.
 9. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 8, wherein thefirst and second direct wireless connections are personal area networkwireless connections.
 10. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 8,wherein the time-current curve comprises a mathematical relationshipbetween the magnitude of current on the load side phase connection andthe duration of time within which the communicating circuit breakertrips if the current on the load side phase connection exceeds thecurrent rating.
 11. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 8, thefault interrupter instructions to cause the circuit interrupter tointerrupt a current flow between the line side phase connection and theload side phase connection upon receipt of an instruction from theremote entity.
 12. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 8, furthercomprising a sensor wherein the fault interrupter instructions furthercomprise power metering instructions, wherein power meteringinstructions are configured to cause the sensor to measure one or moreof energy, power consumption, current, voltage, or electrical frequency.13. The communicating circuit breaker of claim 12, wherein the sensor isconfigured to sense electrical frequency further comprising sensing:high-frequency current components; dynamic distribution of the frequencycomponents over time and within a half cycle of a power line frequency;and power line characteristics.
 14. The communicating circuit breaker ofclaim 8, wherein the fault interrupter instructions are updatable suchthat, when the firmware is updated, one or more of the followingparameters are updated: a current rating; a voltage rating; atime-current curve; or the number of line side phases.
 15. Thecommunicating circuit breaker of claim 14, wherein the fault interrupterinstructions are updatable by receiving updated fault interrupterinstructions from one or both of the communicating circuit breakercontroller or the remote entity.
 16. The communicating circuit breakerof claim 14, further comprising: a sensor, wherein the fault interrupterinstructions further comprise power metering instructions, wherein powermetering instructions are configured to cause the sensor to measure oneor more of energy, power consumption, current, voltage, or electricalfrequency; and wherein when the firmware is updated, one or more of thepower metering instructions are updated.
 17. The communicating circuitbreaker of claim 14, wherein the sensor is configured to senseelectrical frequency further comprising sensing one or more of thefollowing frequency components: high-frequency current components;dynamic distribution of the frequency components over time and within ahalf cycle of a power line frequency; or power line characteristics;wherein when the firmware is updated, the sensing of one or more of thefrequency components is updated.
 18. A method to update a wirelesscircuit breaker, comprising: wirelessly receiving an update controlsignal at the wireless circuit breaker; initiating an update mode of thewireless circuit breaker including at least generating a signal toprevent the wireless circuit breaker from tripping; wirelessly receivingupdated fault interrupter instructions at the wireless circuit breaker;validating the wirelessly received updated fault interrupterinstructions; and updating the wireless circuit breaker with thewirelessly received updated fault interrupter instructions.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the update control signal is received from awireless circuit breaker controller or a remote entity.
 20. The methodof claim 18, wherein the updated fault interrupter instructions arereceived from a wireless circuit breaker controller or a remote entity.21. The method of claim 18, further comprising powering the wirelesscircuit breaker by a power supply, wherein the step of disablingtripping functionality of the wireless circuit breaker prevents thepower supply from being disconnected from the wireless circuit breaker.22. The method of claim 18, wherein the update mode further comprisestransitioning a light emitting diode (LED) from a first state to asecond state.
 23. The method of claim 18, wherein once the step ofupdating the wirelessly received updated fault interrupter instructionsis complete, terminating the update mode.
 24. The method of claim 18,wherein once the step of validating the wirelessly received updatedfault interrupter instructions is complete, transitioning a lightemitting diode (LED) from a first state to a second state.
 25. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the update mode further comprisestransitioning a light emitting diode (LED) from a first state to asecond state; and wherein once the step of validating the wirelesslyreceived updated fault interrupter instructions is complete,transitioning the light emitting diode (LED) to the first state or to athird state.